Pages

4/7/12

Ride Home 4/6: Hardboiled detectives like hard-boiled eggs

Thursday afternoon must've been an anomaly. Barely anyone else on a bike on the ride, though this might have something to do with that fact that some people didn't work and many employers let out early and by the time I was on the road it was just me and the crazy yahoo drivers who were upset that they weren't let out early and would compensate for the two hour advantage of others by driving 10 miles per hour over the speed limit. I'm no "mathemagician" but I'm pretty sure that's not going to make too much of a difference. Also, an out of service bus cut me off, so that wasn't that fun either.
One of my biggest anxieties is the fear that driver stuck in a row of stopped cars will attempt to move into the other lane, assuming it's moving, and just not see me. This is why I tend to tailgate through situations like this. I figure that if I leave any kind of gap between the myself and the car in front of me, someone is going to try to move over. Because nothing is worse that being stopped in traffic, it creates some sort of situational imperative that hampers vision and judgment and prudence. I wonder what percentage of car vs. bike incidents are caused in this manner.
Dupont Circle metro music was three guys singing doo-wop a capella. It's nice to have that as a minor distraction during the more frustrating, slow, and car traffic-inhibited part of my trip. Pedestrians and bicyclists really get the worst of it. Boo.
Sunderland-Tottenham this morning. Pointing out that it's on is the extent of my analysis.
Around 11th and P, a speck of dirt found its way into my right eye and I couldn't get it out. It was terribly uncomfortable and neither power-winking nor aggressive eye rubbing could manage to dislodge it. I would have really preferred to do an impromptu eye wash, but the only liquid I had on me was the dregs of the morning coffee in my mug and dumping that over my face would have likely made the problem worse. I struggled along (stupidly) trying to dislodge the speck (out down speck!), varying my strategies and sometimes just trying to keep both of my eyes open to, you know, be able to see while biking through traffic. Or at least see with some depth perception. I should've just pulled over. I am a dope.
On E Capitol, by the Library of Congress, I saw a family of three Asian tourists riding Bikeshare, led by a youngish boy of maybe 13. At the corner, he asked two members of the state security forces where the nearest dock was and they both sort of shrugged. One suggested that they head down to Eastern Market. I chimed in that there's a station three blocks away. The tourists seemed pretty happy about that. I asked the officers if they'd ever been asked about Bikeshare before. They said no, but one clarified that he normally worked overnights. I'm glad I was there to witness this momentous first.